


Like Fire

by RobotLyra



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Lalafell Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Mild Teacher/Student
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28458501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobotLyra/pseuds/RobotLyra
Summary: Chue Korenwulf is a middle-aged White Mage looking to expand her magical arsenal. Emet-Selch is a sorcerer of eld. Whether he's a reputable teacher is yet to been seen.
Relationships: Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Warrior of Light
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Like Fire

**Author's Note:**

> A short Emet-Selch/WOL drabble to sate my burgeoning desires. Been a GOOD LONG WHILE since I actively wrote fic.  
> Takes place sometime after the Rak'tika Woods content, but before the grand finale of 5.0. Mild spoilers for 5.0 lore. Contains possibly non-canonical aetheric theory. Do not attempt fire sorcery without proper guidance.

“What on the Star are you DOING, hero?”

Chue Korenwulf was rudely interrupted from her focus by the familiar nasal drawl that seemed to be plaguing most of her private moments as of late. She exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes.  
“... I'm busy. Never you mind, Emet-Selch.” The lalafell mage attempted to resume her concentration.  
The creak of soft leather boots circled around behind her, as the Ascian stalked a perimeter around her stony pose.  
“If I had to make a guess, I would say that it appears you're attempting to manipulate Fire aether in a candle flame. But that would be ridiculous, because you are a conjurer and not a thaumaturge, and I doubt even you would be that simple-minded to confuse the two...”  
Chue slumped out of her spellcasting pose and turned around to glare at up at Emet-Selch. “No I haven't confused the two.” She fiddled with the white cloth binding the haft of Ingrimm, her favored Conjuring cane. “I guess I'll have to go back and actually get some proper training in Ul'dah, if I want to learn some really powerful magic...”  
“Powerful magic, you say?” Emet-Selch mused as he watched her settle the cane in the corner and take a seat on the Pendant's room cot. “Having doubts about your ability to wage your noble struggle, perhaps?” His smile took on a decidedly smug angle.  
Chue did her level best not to take the Ascian's bait. “I just thought it was time to expand my magical repertoire beyond conjury and healing” she replied. “I've been curious about it for a while now...”  
“And that curiosity led you to such amateur feats of prestidigitation as playing with lit candles?” He wheedled.  
“Listen, I just don't know if I have enough TIME to go all the way back to the Source and take up a whole new school of magic theory!” Chue jabbed a finger at the smirking figure leaning on the table in the center of the room. “If there was some way to apply the elemental channeling I already know into other magical spells, I supposed it was worth a try. Guess I'll have to make do with the wind and stone and glare for now...”  
“You do know that you have a sorcerer par excellence who has pledged you his assistance, do you not?”  
Chue looked disdainfully into the curious golden eyes and snorted, “As if you've done anything to help in a combat sense. I recall you making a run for it back in Rak'tika when we were at arrowpoint.”  
The Ascian frowned theatrically and shook his head, “And once again, I rebut, I am here not to be treated as a tool, but rather, to be consulted as one with ages upon ages of wisdom. I could teach you magic, if you are so hard pressed to learn more.”  
A beat of silence hung while the lalafell's gaze turned pointed. “You. Teach me some Black Magic. Are you serious?”  
The only sound in the room was the soft swish of Garlean imperial robes as Emet-Selch rose from his idle leaning and drew closer to the bed. “But of course, I have taught arcane arts to many humble shardlings, which formed the bedrock of many mighty empires. It would be no difficult task to teach you, even in your feeble, divided state.”  
“Firstly, I think a good teacher should be a little less insulting to his students. Secondly, what promise do I have that you're not going to use this as an opportunity to strike me down with some dark spell I have no way to fight back against?” Chue bunched her hands into fists, though they were not much larger than a pair of eggs.  
“My dear hero, if it had been my intention to smite you magically, I would have done so already. When I pledged to help, I spoke with all sincerity.” Emet-Selch lowered himself down to the bed beside the little lalafell, the weight of his body sinking the mattress and tilting her body towards him. She leaned back in response, but did not move away further. Her eyes burned into him, trying to pick apart any hidden motives before finally conceding. “Alright. Okay. Would you teach me a little fire magic then, please?”  
“Very well, my student.” The chuckle the Ascian barely suppressed almost made Chue think better of the idea, but he continued. “Give me your hands.”  
“My hands? Nothing like a cane or wand?” Chue cautiously reached into the upturned grasp of the white satin gloves that opened towards her.  
Emet-Selch cupped the tiny hands in his own, the broad span of his dwarfing her diminutive features. “No. In the days when all was one, there was no such need for conduits or mediums to channel the powers of the elements. One could merely call upon the aether within and manifest it into the world. And our individual aether was strong enough to never be corrupted by that which surrounded us. All of the magical powers of life bent to our will.” His thumbs folded over, pressing into the little palms, circling slowly.  
Chue's fingers twitched, and she was briefly overcome with an urge to snatch them out of his grasp, but she swallowed, and steeled herself. “Alright. Everyone has some amount of all the elements of aether inside them, so it makes sense we could draw from it as a source. But would it be enough as compared to something like drawing upon heavily-aspected forms of nature or crystals?”  
“In the shattered forms of yourselves, it would not nearly be as much as what we were once capable of, but it would still be enough to harness and manifest. It would merely take concentration and focus.” His hands squeezed a little tighter around hers. “You must concentrate on the fire aether within you, and guide it to manifest into the world.”  
A wave of goosebumps prickled up Chue's arms at the pressure. “Concentrate on the fire aether within...” she repeated. She closed her eyes a moment and then opened them again. “Uh, what does that feel like?”  
Emet-Selch gave a sigh of exasperation. “The fire aether within you feels like your natural body's warmth. The heat of the blood, the belly, the burning of anger, of passion.” He dropped her hands from his grasp and abruptly scooped her up under her arms and set her on his lap, with her back facing towards him.  
Chue squawked and squirmed, “Hey hey HEY what do you think you're doing?” She made to scramble off his lap, but he pressed his chest forward against her back and captured her hands again. “Hush now” he chided, and it was apparent that the Ascian was curling inwards to rest his chin upon her head. She froze at the sudden weight. “You can feel the warmth within me, can you not?”  
Chue answered haltingly “Y-yes?”  
Emet-Selch brought her hands forward into a pose of supplication. “That is the fire aether. The same is inside of you, to a lesser extent. Breathe, and imagine it moving through you, into your arms. Into your hands.” He simulated the path, skimming his gloved hands up and down, from the underside of her elbows, to the backs of her fingers.  
Breathing shakily, the lalafell made an attempt to calm herself and do as the Ascian guided. She could feel his body heat even through the layers of Garlean royal finery, and it was rather pleasant, as much as she was reluctant to admit. She closed her eyes.  
Emet-Selch's voice lowered into a soft, muzzy tone that she could feel vibrating into her head with his closeness. “Imagine that warmth within your hands, focusing it into a single point, hotter and hotter, until it becomes a tiny spark of flame.”  
Chue's hands curled into a cup shape as she imagined the heat pouring off of Emet-Selch, (and building low in her own stomach,) rippling up through her body, down her outstretched arms, radiating into the bowl of her fingers. She thought of the prickling sensation of flames on her fingertips, and a tiny spark, like an ember thrown from a bonfire, growing brighter and brighter.  
“Very good. Look at that.”  
When Chue's eyes opened, there in the center of her palms, hovering just above the surface of the skin, was a tiny flame, much like the one from the candle she tried to tame earlier.  
“Oh!” She cried “Oh wow, it worked!” She jostled a little with excitement and the flame flickered perilously.  
“Easy, don't loose focus”, Emet-Selch crooned, pressing a little tighter to the small lalafell body in his lap. “Hold it gently, and with each breath, let it grow.”  
With his warm weight holding her still, Chue inhaled and exhaled again, and the flame swelled, as if fed by the air she breathed. Soon, a blaze like fair-sized torch was perched in her grasp, and she rolled it gently in her palms. “It's pretty, it's almost like water the way it flows.”  
The Ascian removed his gloved hands from his student's, and ringed them gently around her waist instead, letting her control the fire on her own. “Aether under the control of our will was used to make beautiful creations. Blended into delicate constructs of multiple aspects, or shining crystallizations of single elements. What you are doing right now is but a fraction of what is truly possible. But even this moves my heart in fond memory....” He murmured, and squeezed the body in his lap, his cheek nuzzling the top of her head.  
Below him, Chue's flame abruptly burst into flaring brightness before suddenly extinguishing in a flurry of sparks. While she yelped, the Ascian laughed and squeezed tighter, pressing his fingertips into the soft pad of her stomach. “Your concentration needs work, hero. You are distracted rather easily!”  
The lalafell wriggled in his hold, “That's not fair! I can't concentrate when you've got your hands all over me!”  
“Then perhaps I should keep them here until you learn to ignore them. Or do you not WANT to ignore them?” He bowed his head to purr into the nape of her neck and the vibration shot straight down to her core. She squeezed her legs together without thinking. “I don't- I .. I mean...” she babbled plaintively.  
Emet-Selch placed a featherlight kiss right where the skin of Chue's neck met her hairline, and she whined softly.  
“It's up to you, hero....” he whispered. “Shall we continue the lesson?”


End file.
